The wind orchestra of variable stars
A soundfont is a file format and technology used in digital music production to store samples of sounds along with instructions on how those sounds should be played back. For instance, it is employed by software applications like MuseScore as a sound library for compositions, arrangements, and recordings.
The following soundfont was generated using the software application Polyphone together with a variety of sonified light curves representing different types of stellar variability.
| Type of variable star | Name in soundfont | Range | Sound resemblance | Instrument affinity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classical Cepheid (δ Cephei type) | Cepheid | A0–C4 | Woodwind | Bassoon, contrabassoon |
| Eclipsing binary of Algol / β Persei type | Ecl. bin. Algol | A0–A5 | Brass | Horn, trombone, tuba |
| Eclipsing binary of β Lyrae type | Ecl. bin. beta Lyr | D3–D6 | Woodwind | Clarinet, bassoon |
| Eclipsing binary of W Ursae Majoris type | Ecl. bin. W Uma | C4–A6 | Woodwind | Flute |
| Exoplanetary transit by a planet orbiting a star | Exoplanet transit | A0–E5 | Brass | Trumpet, trombone, tuba |
| Mira (ο Ceti type) | Mira | A0–C3 | Woodwind | Contrabassoon |
| Rotating star with spots | Rotating star | C3–C8 | Woodwind | Piccolo, flute, clarinet |
| RR Lyrae star in fundamental pulsation mode | RR Lyr fundamental | C4–C6 | Woodwind | Clarinet |
| RR Lyrae star in first overtone pulsation mode | RR Lyr overtone | A4–A6 | Woodwind | Flute |
| Gravitational microlensing event | Microlensing | C2–C4 | Percussion | Timpani, snare drum |
| Supernova | Supernova | Unpitched (C2–C3) | Percussion | Bass drum |
The soundfont maps typical or potential period ranges of these variable star types to note ranges across each instrument. The middle do note (C4) corresponds to a period of approximately one day.
Because of the similar waveforms, the note range of a classical Cepheid can be complemented by that of an RR Lyrae star in its fundamental pulsation mode, and vice versa. Similarly, the note range of an exoplanet transit can be extended by that of an eclipsing binary of Algol / β Persei type.
This soundfont is free to download, share, adapt, and use under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International:
(version 1.0; the sf2 file size is about 32 MB).
The soundfont is also available for download from the soundfont library on the Polyphone website.
For any question, comment, feedback on this soundfont, please fill in the contact form.
Published: August 18, 2024 | Last Updated: August 18, 2024 | Resources licensed under CC BY 4.0
